Weight Off My Shoulders
by RySenkari
Summary: Several weeks into her decision to learn escape artistry from Lori, Carol Pingrey finds herself struggling with something besides a bunch of tightly knotted ropes. She confesses everything, hoping she won't regret letting Lori take that strip of duct tape off her mouth! Rated M for major kink. One-sided Carolori.


(Author's Note: This story is meant to be a sequel to my earlier story, "Literally Speechless", and references events that took place in it. You might be slightly confused if you read this story first, though reading the earlier story isn't required!)

O-O-O

Carol Pingrey twisted and writhed, her limber frame jerking hard against the ropes that restricted her movement from her shoulders down to her ankles. She'd been at it now for nearly twenty minutes, but had made very little progress at freeing herself, much to her frustration. She grunted and shrieked, but her lips were sealed by a very sticky strip of duct tape, and no intelligible words could escape them. She could feel the beads of sweat starting to roll down her face. Getting sweaty like this would normally bother her, but she was in her room, and only one other person could see.

She renewed her struggles, even as she felt herself starting to tire out, and felt her arms and chest starting to ache. Her legs were getting sore too as she tried to pull them free of their rope bindings, but like her arms and upper body, they were hopelessly trapped. Carol pulled and tugged and jerked, but nothing was coming loose, and she started to doubt herself. She slumped her head only for a moment, only to hear an encouraging word reach her ear.

"It's okay if you want to rest a bit, Carol."

Carol looked up to see her best friend Lori Loud standing over her, smiling warmly. Lori was holding a stopwatch in her hand, and Carol could briefly see that she'd been tied up like this for exactly twenty minutes and twenty-seven seconds.

"Are you ready to-" Lori began before Carol cut her off by shaking her head. "Okay then, just let me know."

It had been nearly a month since Carol had asked Lori to begin training her in a most unusual talent... escape artistry. The idea had come to Carol after she'd been tied up by some of her friends on the student council after being a bit overzealous in proposing her ideas for the spring festival. After a quick lesson in listening from her fellow student council members and Lori, Carol had asked Lori to teach her how to escape from such a situation should she need to do so in the future. Lori, after all, had been tied up on many occasions by her younger siblings, and, combined with her yoga training, had exceptional skill in squirming out of all kinds of binds. Lori agreed, and over the next few weeks, had begun teaching Carol some of her skills. She'd started Carol off easy with some basic escape situations, such as loose ties with jump ropes and various articles of clothing, before moving her up to some more advanced binding materials such as ropes and tape, while also increasing the tightness of the bonds themselves. Carol was a quick study, and learned to slip out of pretty much every situation Lori could throw at her, but this latest lesson was easily the hardest to date.

Carol had been bound tightly to a chair in her room, with soft but very strong white ropes that had been bound both around her midsection and around the back of the chair. The ropes went both above and below her breasts, anchored by a stringent knot secured between the loops and to the chair itself. More ropes then went around Carol's wrists themselves, criss-crossed numerous times between them and secured both to the chair and to the knot securing the chest ropes, along with a knot tied under the chair and secured around Carol's waist. Still more ropes were tied tightly around Carol's thighs, above and below her knees, and around her bare ankles, which were themselves secured together to a strong wooden bar connecting the front legs of the chair. It was far more secure than the binding Carol had been subjected to by the student council last month, and also more strict than anything the Loud siblings had done to Lori. As was the case with the previous bindings, Carol had also been gagged, this time with a strip of duct tape. While it wasn't really necessary for the lesson, Carol had insisted on it, saying it added to the "realism" of the situation. Lori had obliged, just as she had when Carol had asked her to tie her up this strictly despite having already learned how to escape from pretty much everything Lori had ever been subjected to.

"Twenty-two minutes now," said Lori quietly to herself. As she always did, she watched Carol carefully as she struggled, looking for any signs that her friend might be in distress or pain. _She's really giving it her all... maybe that's why she asked me to do this while we were still in our swimwear..._

It was nice and cool in the room, and Lori could feel the house's air conditioning on her bare skin. She was clad in her light blue two-piece bikini, while Carol was dressed in a slightly skimpier dark purple swimsuit that clung tightly to her body as she continued to struggle and sweat in her bindings. Unlike the previous sessions, in which Carol had been clothed more heavily and the bonds were secured over her outfit, here the ropes were bound tightly around Carol's bare skin.

 _She's going to have some serious rope burn when she gets free,_ thought Lori, hoping that Carol wasn't lying when she told her she wasn't in any pain. _I tried not to make it so tight that it would hurt her, but those ropes are still really digging in..._

Carol grunted loudly, and Lori could see her friend getting increasingly frustrated. She was full-on fighting the ropes now, her arms pushing out with all their strength as her shoulders jerked wildly up and down.

 _Come on...!_ thought Carol, glaring furiously back at the chair, as if it was somehow responsible for her current predicament. _I can get out of all the other ties Lori put me in, why is this so hard?_

"Carol, you need to relax," said Lori, reaching over to place her hand on her friend's cheek. This had an immediate calming effect on Carol, who stopped struggling and looked up at Lori, listening to everything her friend had to say. "Remember the other lessons? Don't fight the ropes, just relax. No matter how tightly you're tied up, there's always going to be a little bit of slack, and then you can just wiggle..."

Lori demonstrated by gracefully moving her arms, shoulders, and chest up and down a bit to show Carol what she needed to do. Carol nodded, her eyes glazed over a bit in a transfixed sort of way.

 _I... I need to calm down..._ thought Carol, as her heart began to beat a bit faster in her chest despite her struggles having stopped. Carol began to imitate Lori's movements, gracefully moving her shoulders up and down while also leaning her chest forward. _I need to... relax._

"You've got it," said Lori, smiling. "Just like I showed you. If you burn out your energy on struggling right away you'll never get free."

"Mmhmm," Carol replied, and continued to relax and flex inside the ropes. Carol was a slender girl, and didn't have quite the musculature that Lori had, especially in her upper body. While the two played on the same golf team and often trained in much the same fashion, Carol's other pursuits were more academic in nature, while Lori was more accustomed to manual labor and physicality, especially from being around so many competitive sisters all the time. However, what Carol lacked in physical strength, she could perhaps make up for in flexibility, and she worked against the ropes, knowing that her slightly smaller frame might help her slip out more easily. As she did so, she kept her eyes on Lori. _Lori, you're..._

Carol thought back to the yoga lessons she'd taken from Lori. She remembered the poses, and the movements, and Lori's warnings about yoga farts, which in retrospect seemed a bit overblown to Carol because she hadn't farted even once during all of their sessions together.

 _I remember Lori asking me where I bought my yoga outfit, and showing up to our next session wearing the exact same thing..._ thought Carol, letting out a giggle at the memory. _And then being so shocked the first time she..._

Carol giggled again, remembering Lori's denials and then, finally, her profuse apology.

 _Lori, you're... ridiculous._

Carol had another memory from those yoga sessions... one of the first bits of advice Lori had given her. During an exercise, always maintain focus on a fixed point. It helps with concentration and relaxation, and right now, Carol was using Lori as that fixed point. She looked Lori up and down several times as she continued to writhe within the tight ropes. Lori, and her broad shoulders, and her trim waist, and her normal chest, and her stomach with the very faint outlines of her abdominal muscles... her legs, which Lori herself had always criticized, were a bit thick, at least when compared to some of Carol's other friends, but were fit and toned as well, just like the rest of her, even if she wasn't as skinny as Carol herself was. Lori was a perfectly normal teenage girl, and Carol found herself unable to look away.

Carol's pulse quickened again, and her struggles, despite her efforts to concentrate and remember what Lori had just told her, began to intensify as well. She tugged hard against the chair and jerked her shoulders, even if it made her feel somewhat of a burning sensation in them as the ropes held fast and seemed to compress her body even more. She tried to kick, though the ropes binding her ankles to the chair held quite fast, and her head came forward as she let out a loud yell. She could see Lori still watching her, and their eyes met, and Carol's face felt very hot for a brief moment, cooled down by a bead of sweat coming down from her forehead. Lori asked Carol if she was okay, and she quickly nodded and resumed her efforts.

The minutes ticked on, and Carol tried to maintain her focus, keep her cool, and relax. Lori counted off thirty minutes, and Carol continued to squirm. Every time she thought she'd made some progress, she tried to pull one of her arms loose, felt everything tighten again, and heaved out a loud sigh. Lori's look of concern grew more and more, but every time she asked Carol if she needed a break, Carol shook her head and kept struggling, looking at Lori all the while. Lori noticed that Carol was looking at her, and felt just a bit self conscious, being as scantily clad as she was. Still, she trusted her best friend, and her best friend certainly trusted her.

 _Otherwise she wouldn't have let me tie her up like this,_ thought Lori, watching as Carol continued to fight in the ropes. As Carol's struggles continued, Lori could see that her friend was breathing faster and faster, and though she wasn't stopping to catch her breath, it was becoming clear that Carol was struggling with a bit more than just her bonds. "Carol, take it easy, okay?"

But Carol continued to struggle as if she didn't hear Lori at all. As the time neared the 45 minute mark, Carol once again seemed to have forgotten all pretense of relaxation, and was giving her full effort to getting free, exerting and straining herself and jerking wildly in the chair, while giving strained exclamations or even muffled curses behind her gag. And though Carol seemed not to hear Lori, Lori certainly seemed to hear Carol and her increasingly loud breathing and wheezing through her nostrils.

 _Carol, slow down...!_

Carol didn't notice the look of concern on Lori's face, and didn't notice herself getting redder and redder, though it would have been impossible for her to notice her own increasingly flushed cheeks. She just kept straining against the ropes, even as she was breathing faster and faster.

 _She can't get enough air,_ thought Lori, who immediately reached forward and peeled the tape off of Carol's mouth as quickly as she could. "Carol, are you okay? Breathe!"

Carol let out an exclamation of pain as she felt the tape suddenly yanked off her skin, but took several quick gulps of air through her open mouth as she stopped her struggles and started to calm down. She felt both of Lori's hands on her cheeks, gently guiding her to look up.

"Carol, I'm sorry," said Lori, her expression and voice drenched with concern. "I should've noticed sooner that you couldn't breathe through your nose, I knew taping your mouth was a bad idea."

"It wasn't... the tape... Lori..." Carol replied, still sounding out of breath despite being able to breathe through her mouth again. Her words continued to come out in quick, sharp breaths, and Lori reached to begin undoing the ropes as Carol shook her head to wave her friend off. "Lori, I'm fine, don't untie me...!"

"But Carol-" Lori began.

"Lori, it's... it's..."

Lori paused, but her hands remained poised on one of the knots, ready to untie Carol the moment she thought her friend might be in danger.

"Lori, that's not why I feel... really... really... weird right now," said Carol, her face bright red and turned away from her friend. Lori could see that Carol was still really nervous and still breathing quite quickly, and that her heart must still be beating very rapidly, and couldn't wipe the look of concern off her face.

"Are you sure you don't want me to untie you?" Lori asked.

"N...no..." Carol shook her head. "Lori, I..."

Carol's face was as red as Lori had ever seen. In fact, Lori had only ever seen that look on one other person. Her eyes widened slightly, and her hand started to move away from the ropes, sliding up to her friend's shoulder. As soon as her hand touched Carol's bare shoulder, Carol let out a quick, almost inaudible but still very sharp gasp.

"Lori...?" said Carol, her entire body trembling as she looked up into Lori's eyes. "If I... if I told you something... would you-"

"Carol, you can tell me anything," said Lori, in her calmest, kindest, most understanding tone of voice, as she gave Carol her warmest smile.

 _That look,_ thought Lori, her own heart starting to beat slightly faster, _was the look Bobby gave me when he first asked me..._

"Lori, I... I like you," said Carol, gulping and taking another soft breath. "I mean I... _really_ like you."

Lori took a deep breath of her own, and Carol could feel Lori's hand starting to sweat on her shoulder. Carol's expression changed from a smile to a nervous gape, the same expression she'd had when she'd admitted that she'd always thought Lori was better than her when the two had first become friends.

"But... but... please don't be mad...! I mean, I... I know this must be totally weird...!"

"Carol, there's nothing weird at all about it," said Lori. "I... could kind of tell that you felt that way from how you were looking at me when you were struggling before. And... you know I'd never judge anyone for who they're attracted to."

"I know," Carol replied, already aware that Lori's sister Luna was attracted to girls as well and that Lori accepted it completely. "It's just... I'm not sure how you'd respond to knowing how I felt about you..."

It _was_ a lot for Lori to take in, but not because she was weirded out or intimidated by another girl liking her. But this wasn't just any girl, it was Carol Pingrey, the prettiest and most popular girl at Royal Woods High School. The president of the student council. The homecoming queen. Every girl in school wanted to be Carol Pingrey, and almost every boy wanted to be with her.

"When did...when did you first realize you liked me?" asked Lori, who'd already lifted her hand from Carol's shoulder and was now sitting on the edge of Carol's bed, facing her.

"Honestly? Before we were even friends," replied Carol, blushing and looking away from Lori again.

"So even while we were competing over selfies and pretty much everything else, you had a crush on me?"

Carol nodded, looking back up at Lori and continuing to explain herself, even as she sounded more nervous and unsure with every word she spoke.

"Way before," said Carol. "I... I never really liked boys, not all that much. I always felt so much pressure from my parents to succeed and to fit in, and to be honest, I did like all the praise and attention."

Lori could understand that perfectly. She and Carol were both unsure of themselves, both sharing similar insecurities and anxieties. The two had talked about it together, sometimes over frozen yogurt, sometimes during yoga lessons... while Lori had taught Carol about yoga and about escaping from tie-up situations, Carol had taught Lori strategies for dealing with anxiety and how to take things more in stride, and it had really helped Lori to keep herself calm and to not go crazy when dealing with her crazy family.

"Do your parents know you're gay?" asked Lori, hoping that Carol's parents were as understanding as her own parents had been toward Luna when she'd first come out to them.

"Actually... yeah," said Carol with a smile. "For all the pressure I feel from them sometimes to succeed in school and do extracurricular stuff, they're actually really accepting of my personal life. It's just...I'm worried about some of the others at school, that's why I haven't come out completely just yet."

"That's understandable," said Lori. "So... even when we were freshmen?"

"The first time I noticed you was when I read in the school paper that you made the varsity golf team. Then I just had to know... who was this girl? And the more I learned about you, the more I..."

Carol's voice trailed off, and she stopped, her voice taking on a worried tone.

"It's not like I'm obsessed with you or anything though...! Oh man, Lori, please don't think-"

"Carol, it's okay."

"...oh, my God...!" Carol suddenly gasped, her eyes widening all the way. She looked down at herself, then at Lori, then at the ropes. "All of this, the tie-up lessons... I swear, that wasn't me trying to...!"

Lori started to laugh, and when Carol blinked, Lori laughed even louder, putting a hand over her mouth to stifle it. She shook her head, unable to speak for a moment as Carol continued to fret.

"Carol, it's okay, really," said Lori, placing her hand back on her friend's shoulder. "Whatever the reasons you had, this has been really fun and I don't think you're a perv or anything."

"But... the swimsuits-"

"Carol, I had an inkling you might be into me and I still agreed to do this with you, would I have done that if I was worried about anything at all? Knowing how much I worry?"

Carol stared at Lori for a moment, then let out a long and heavy sigh, a faint smile on her face, though her voice still sounded a bit nervous when she started to speak again.

"Lori... it really is true, I think you're the prettiest girl in school and I'm _really_ attracted to you... but... I..."

Carol trailed off and let her words hang in the air, and she and Lori both knew exactly what that awkward silence meant.

"Carol, we're best friends no matter who you're into, and I'm flattered beyond belief," said Lori, her smile fading slightly. "But I... I'm not gay. I'm... not into girls and never have been, and as flattered as I am and as beautiful as you are, I could never be as attracted to you as you are to me."

"Right," said Carol, her smile and tone concealing the slightest, faintest bit of disappointment, the same kind of disappointment someone has when they realize that the $500 million Ultra Lotto ticket they're holding doesn't have the winning numbers and they have to go back to work the next day. _I kinda figured you'd say that..._

"And secondly, even if I was into girls, I... I'm dating Bobby, and I could never ever betray him, not in a million years. He'd never hurt me and I would never, ever hurt him. So... please understand that we can't... we can't do anything more than this," said Lori. She'd never had to let someone down like this before, not someone who she truly cared about who was practically throwing herself at her, and she wanted to make sure that Carol's feelings weren't hurt in any way.

Fortunately for Lori, it took less than a second for her to realize that Carol truly and completely understood.

"Of course," said Carol, the disappointment gone from her voice as she looked up at Lori with a genuine smile. "I'd never ask you to do anything like that... and I had a feeling you weren't even into girls anyway... that's why I was so nervous about coming out to you."

Lori and Carol exchanged a moment of earnest appreciation between them, a look of understanding and love that was different from the love that Lori and Bobby shared but still just as pure and just as true. And even still, Lori felt a burning within her heart, a feeling of intense curiosity.

"Carol, I have to know, why... why are you so attracted to me?" asked Lori, before realizing that her question might be slightly narcissistic and immediately regretting how forward she'd been in asking it. "I mean, you... you don't have to answer, I'm just curious is all!"

Now Carol was the one who was giggling, though it was only for a moment.

"It's... hard to explain," said Carol. "I've just always found you to be, like, the most beautiful girl I've ever met!"

Lori felt a lump in her throat. Carol Pingrey, the prettiest and most popular girl in school, thinks that she, Lori Loud, is the most beautiful girl she's ever met?

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are," said Carol, starting to speak with more confidence now that she'd already cleared the biggest hurdle in admitting her attraction. "I've already told you how awesome I think your hair is, and your legs-"

"Are way too thick."

"Are super fit and flexible!"

"I have a double chin!"

"So do lots of people," said Carol, "and it's totally normal. If you're really worried about it, they have a medicine for it now, but the side effects aren't worth it and you don't need it anyway."

"I have backne!" said Lori, before clapping both hands over her own mouth and blushing almost as red as Carol was.

"Not really," replied Carol, "and even when you do, we're teenagers! It's normal! In fact, seeing how awesome you are at rocking that bikini bod gave me the confidence to stop buying so much pimple cream myself. It's saved me like 70 bucks already, I was able to afford this purple bikini with the money I saved!"

"My feet are ugly," said Lori, looking down at her feet next to Carol's. While Carol's feet were a bit smaller and more slender, Lori had perfectly normal looking feet, save for the small scars she had between her toes left from the corrective surgery she'd had on her webbed feet back when she was two.

"They're fine," replied Carol. "Though I'm not really one to judge, considering I don't have a foot fetish or anything..."

"Neither does Bobby, though I've never heard him complain even once when I ask him to give me a foot rub, so... I guess you're right."

"Lori, you shouldn't-"

"But what about the other thing?" asked Lori, suddenly looking all nervous again. "What about... about..."

She leaned in, whispering to Carol about the Thing That Must Not Be Named.

"You mean the fart-mmm!" Carol didn't even have time to finish before Lori pressed the piece of duct tape back over her mouth, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Lmri, fmrtmng mms pmfmctmly nmrmll..."

"Shhh!" Lori shushed Carol, who rolled her eyes in response. "And no, it's not!"

Lori had already told Carol about their family road trip, about how Lori had stunk up the whole car and even about the whole crop duster incident, and of course, Carol had been present for all of Lori's yoga farts during their lessons. And yet...

"Lmmstn... Lmri...mleh!" Carol pushed the tape off with her tongue. "Listen, Lori, that's normal too! You're a completely, perfectly normal teenage girl! And yet...you're still the most awesome girl I've ever met. You work your butt off helping to take care of your siblings, while holding down a part time job and captaining the varsity golf team. If you didn't have ten siblings to take care of, you'd be doing way more extracurriculars than me! You have an awesome boyfriend, one of the few guys I've ever been attracted to, and he LOVES you, and you love him just as much if not more. You go through so much crazy stuff you could probably have your own sitcom and yet you're still able to keep it together, come to school looking amazing, and help everybody out with their problems, including me. Ninety percent of the stuff you have to put up with would leave me a nervous wreck, and yet somehow you manage to get through it all and keep a positive attitude and be the best sister, girlfriend, and friend ever. Lori, I'm attracted to you because when I first met you, you were the person I wanted to be, but now that we're best friends, you've helped me become the person I needed to be."

By the time Carol finished speaking, she was out of breath, and Lori was speechless. She truly didn't know what to say.

 _Carol... really does love me,_ thought Lori, placing her hand to her chest and feeling her eyes well up with tears. _And she just said the nicest thing that anyone's ever said to me_

"I... didn't know," said Lori, her voice shaking as she finally found herself able to form words.

"I... didn't think it'd come out like that," replied Carol, surprised herself that she'd poured her heart and soul out so openly to Lori. "I meant it, though."

"I know," said Lori softly.

"It's just, when I heard you being so down on yourself..."

A tear slid down Lori's cheek as she heard Carol continuing to praise her, though not as eloquently as she'd done before.

"...and you work so hard to stay in shape... a lot of people at school really respect you..."

Lori began to feel the overwhelming urge to shut Carol up again. Not with a piece of tape, or with one of her sweaty hands, but with a passionate, intense kiss, just like in those romantic movies she and Carol enjoyed watching so much, or just like at the end of every episode of _The Dream Boat_. But this wasn't either of those things, and Lori still loved Bobby, and would never do anything to betray him. As much as Carol loved Lori, Lori could never feel the same way about her.

At least not in a romantic way. But Lori still loved Carol in plenty of other ways, and wanted her best friend to know that no matter what, she'd always be just that. Her best friend forever.

"Carol..."

Carol could see in Lori's smile and hear in the tone of her voice that Lori understood everything she was trying to say. Carol stopped and smiled and nodded, and let her friend continue to speak.

"Carol, I'm glad you opened up to me, and I just want you to know that no matter what, this doesn't change anything between us. I'm glad we're friends, and your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you, Lori," said Carol, looking slightly away. Lori could tell that Carol still felt a slight pang of guilt for not coming out to her sooner, especially with the things Carol had asked Lori to do with her over the last few weeks. Lori reached over and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, and the two shared another look.

 _You never judged me,_ thought Lori, smiling a reassuring smile, _and I'll never judge you._

The whole time Carol had been pouring her heart out to Lori, she'd almost forgotten that she was still tightly bound to a chair. And now, as relaxed as she could be, she had about as much slack as the ropes binding her would possibly give. Inspired by their conversation, Carol began to struggle again... but even though she was completely relaxed, the ropes still wouldn't budge. Carol sighed.

"I don't think I'm going to get out of this," said Carol, slumping her shoulders.

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd be able to," Lori replied. "I only let Bobby tie me up like this once, and it took me an hour and a half to get myself loose."

"You let Bobby tie you up?" asked Carol, raising an eyebrow and suddenly smirking. Lori's eyes widened and she backed off slightly, realizing exactly what she'd just confessed to her friend. She shook her head rapidly.

"It's not like that!" Lori nervously exclaimed, with the same tone of voice she used to deny her bouts of flatulence. "It's... it's just practice! For the next time I'm babysitting! I swear!"

Carol's smirk grew.

"And besides, I tie him up way more than-"

Lori stopped herself, but it was too late, and Carol burst out laughing. Lori put her hands on her hips, sighing loudly.

"It's okay," said Carol as she began to calm down. "Your secret's safe with me."

Lori sighed again, but smiled, knowing that she could trust Carol as much as Carol trusted her. She reached over and placed her hand on Carol's shoulder again.

"So... are you ready for me to let you out?"

Carol winced slightly at Lori's touch.

"Are you okay?" asked Lori.

"I'm fine," Carol replied, though she continued to wince.

"Are you sure? I told you, it's okay that you like me, and I'm not mad about-"

"It's... not that," said Carol, but she still refused to tell Lori what was bothering her.

"Then...?"

Lori took her hand off Carol's shoulder, and Carol let out a tiny sigh of relief. Lori raised an eyebrow. Carol said nothing.

"Carol... you know that I would never, ever do anything to betray Bobby," said Lori, standing up from the bed as she suddenly realized why Carol was wincing at her touch and not saying anything.

"I know, and I'd never ask you to-"

"But..."

As Lori walked over to Carol's dresser, she could see her friend wincing and fidgeting in her chair, and could tell exactly what Carol wanted to ask her but never would.

"But you're clearly sore from being tied up like that for an hour," said Lori, picking up a bottle of Carol's best skin lotion. "And if I were to give you a little shoulder rub to help you relax your stiff shoulders... then I suppose whatever happens happens, right?"

Carol could feel her pulse quicken again, rapidly, as she looked back to see Lori standing behind her, getting ready to put lotion on her hands.

"Lori, wait!"

Lori stopped.

 _Did I go too far?_

Lori put down the lotion and started to reach for her friend's wrist ropes.

 _Of course Carol wouldn't want me to-_

"Could you... put the tape back on?" Carol asked sheepishly, gesturing toward the roll of duct tape laying on her bed. "...in case my parents come home."

Lori blinked, then nodded, walking over and picking up the tape.

"Sure you can breathe okay?"

" _Watching every motion in my foolish lover's game..."_ Carol started to sing suddenly before she was cut off by Lori applying a fresh strip of duct tape over her lips.

"Okay, _Luna_ ," said Lori with a smirk, pressing her hands firmly against the edges of the tape to make sure it was nice and tight over her best friend's lips.

 _At least I'm not speaking in a British accent,_ Carol muffled through the tape, her mutual smirk visible under its sticky silver.

Lori walked around behind Carol's chair again and squirted some lotion onto her hands, rubbing it in for a few seconds before placing her hands on Carol's shoulders and beginning to rub and caress her soft skin. Carol yelped and jumped at first, before quickly easing into it and giving a long, loud moan.

 _Wow..._ thought Carol, realizing immediately that her friend's done this before. _Bobby's a lucky guy._

Bobby certainly, but some of the Loud siblings as well. Whether it was Leni after a long day of shopping, Luna after a fierce concert, Lynn after a hard game of... whatever, really, or even Lana after working on Vanzilla, Lori had given plenty of shoulder rubs over the years, but never one quite like this. Lori could hear Carol's moans continue as she kept at it, but it didn't make her uncomfortable at all. She was glad to be helping her friend like this, and even though she knew what Carol was getting out of it, she didn't see it as betraying Bobby at all. She'd tell him everything, leaving out the part about Carol being into girls. What Carol enjoyed or didn't enjoy was Carol's business and hers alone, though Lori could hear her friend's moans getting louder and louder.

Carol tried not to get too much into it, but her writhing and squirming was intensifying by the second. Her toes curled, and her fingers clenched behind her back. Her entire upper body was lithely wriggling in the ropes, though she was making no effort to get free. Carol shut her eyes and let her other senses take over. She could feel the pounding in her chest and the electricity going up her legs... and between them.

 _God...!_ Carol muffled under the tape, thrusting her chest forward slightly, even though Lori was behind her instead of in front of her. Lori's fingers continued to work, to ease out the tension in Carol's body and soothe her aching shoulders with every squeeze and touch.

"How's this feel?" asked Lori. "Does it hurt?"

"Mm-mm... mm-mm...!" Carol shook her head, before bending it back and craning up to look into Lori's eyes before shaking it again. _No, it feels good!_

"I'm glad," said Lori, smiling. She kept at it, not increasing her speed or intensifying what she was doing, but just continuing to give Carol the same shoulder massage she gave Bobby and her siblings every now and then, not doing anything differently with Carol than she'd ever done with anyone else. _It's okay, Carol, whatever you feel, let it out._

Carol continued to writhe slightly faster, continuing to feel an intense sensation that soon caused her to clench her legs together slightly, pressing her thighs together even more than the ropes were already doing. She struggled a bit, but only to feel the ropes fighting back against her limbs and her body, enjoying the sensation of being bound as she was with someone who would never hurt her. She looked up at Lori again. She fantasized about Lori doing all kinds of things with her while she was tied up and helpless like this. It wasn't the intense kind of painful things like the characters in her mom's "romantic" novels did to each other, but instead, Carol imagined Lori kissing her all over, rubbing her, tickling her, touching her while she was tightly bound up. She didn't want to be spanked, or whipped, or hurt, but just held by someone like Lori, held until she finally asked to be freed after the two of them had had their fun.

 _I know it can never be,_ thought Carol, closing her eyes yet again and letting go of her fantasies for the sensations she was feeling right now, of Lori's hands still skillfully rubbing and kneading her tender, stiff shoulders. _But I can still want it, right? Is that okay? Is it okay to want you until I find someone I want even more?_

Carol loved Lori, and knew that Lori loved her, even if it wasn't the kind of romantic love that Lori shared with Bobby. And yet, it was okay. They could still spend time together, hang out at college together, go to each other's weddings, talk about their jobs and their families.

 _Yes... it's okay and it's going to be okay._

Carol moaned again, her loudest moan yet, leaning her head back and flexing her entire body, from her neck to her back to her feet, her arches flexing and her big toes pressing into the ground as she strained to hold back what she knew was coming. She could feel Lori's fingers shaking and trembling a bit, but Lori continued the massage just the same, even as she knew she was bringing her friend to climax with just her tender touch.

Lori didn't stop, and neither did Carol, who let out a loud swear under the tape as Lori continued to work her ordinary magic.

 _Fuck!_ Carol screamed, pushing all of her toes into the carpet now as she felt herself giving in to the throes of an orgasm that came with an intensity she'd never experienced before in her life, even when she'd tried to do it herself with her own fingers and a picture of her favorite actress. _LORI!_

Carol shrieked and twisted against the chair, and Lori could see the intensity of Carol's pleasure. She stopped for just a moment.

 _Please, Lori, please don't stop!_ Carol begged, feeling another climax slipping tantalizingly out of her reach. Lori's hands gripped Carol's shoulders with renewed vigor, and Carol's orgasm resumed just as vigorously, as she cried out in pleasure again and pushed herself against the chair enough to cause some of the bonds holding her to it to slip from her body.

 _This never happens with Bobby,_ thought Lori, her expression one of mixed surprise and gratitude. _Then again, maybe it would if he was tied up in his swim trunks while I was doing it..._

Carol felt herself coming a third time, though not with quite the intensity of the second, and soon afterward, she felt some of the energy slipping from her as the heat she felt in her inner walls began to fade. She was gasping through her nose again, her chest heaving as Lori continued to massage her shoulders which were now slightly damp from her own sweat. Though Carol appeared to be struggling to breathe, Lori let her calm down on her own, continuing the massage until she heard Carol's breathing return to normal. Then, she lifted her hands, giving her friend a few more moments to sit wide eyed in the chair.

"Are you feeling better?' asked Lori, walking around to the front of the chair and looking down at her friend. For a brief moment, Lori could see that the front of Carol's bikini bottom was completely soaked, but she averted her gaze before Carol could see that she was staring. "It... looks like you are."

Carol had a mortified expression for a moment, but realized that Lori didn't need to see what she'd done in her bikini to know just what an effect that shoulder massage had had on her. She just gave a soft giggle under the tape, before muffling a quiet thank you.

"Three's quite a lot," said Lori. "The first time Bobby and I did it it was only two... actually, maybe one and a half."

Carol laughed even louder, a sort of snicker that was more like a snort. Lori reached over to remove the tape from Carol's mouth, but Carol shook her head, wiggled her upper body just a bit, and with some effort, extricated her left arm from its bondage, reaching up and ungagging herself.

"I'm sorry," said Carol softly, smiling but hoping that Lori didn't secretly think she was some kind of a freak.

"Don't be," replied Lori. "Don't ever be."

Lori stepped back to let Carol finish freeing herself, and after Carol stood up, Lori hugged her.

"You got free," said Lori, smiling.

"I'm sure it was just all the sweat I worked up," replied Carol modestly. "Speaking of which, I'd um... I'd better wash up."

"Right," said Lori, her cheeks a slight red, though not as red as pretty much Carol's entire body was at the moment. "I think I'll get changed and head home, unless... you want me to wait up and stay a while?"

"It's up to you," Carol replied. She was still shaking just a bit, not able to believe what she'd just confessed to Lori, and even more, what Lori had done for her afterward. She was so grateful, so thankful for Lori's kindness and understanding, but was still just a bit nervous that everything between them had changed and that their friendship wouldn't be the same after all of that. "Whatever you want to do is okay with me."

"Then... I'll stay," said Lori, sitting down on Carol's bed. "Want to watch a movie together after we get dressed?"

"Sure," said Carol. She started to turn to leave, but Lori stopped her by gently taking her wrist. "Lori?"

"Carol, I just want you to know that no matter what happens from here on out, I'm still your best friend and I'll always be here for you. If you want someone to talk to, I'll listen. And if you want to talk to someone who knows a bit more about what you're going through, my sister and her girlfriend would love to talk with you too."

"To be honest, I almost thought of telling Luna about my sexuality and what I thought about you, but... we barely know each other, so I... I didn't trust her enough."

"It's okay, I can understand not wanting to come out to someone who's pretty much a complete stranger. But I can vouch for Luna, she's the most caring and compassionate person I know and she'll listen to every word you say, just like I would. I will say this... she's does sometimes sing secrets in the shower, but the one thing she'd never do is out somebody, so you can trust her with that information. Sam too."

Carol smiled.

"Thanks, Lori... thanks for everything."

Before Lori could reply, Carol leaned up and kissed her, very quickly, on the lips. It was barely half a second, and as soon as it was over, Carol recoiled and covered up her mouth, an apologetic look in her eyes.

"Lori, I'm sorry!" Carol muffled through her hand, shaking her head. Lori blushed, looked surprised for a moment, then sighed and smiled.

"I told you, don't ever be sorry."

"I won't do that again, I promise..."

"Next time you apologize to me, I'm taping your mouth shut," said Lori jokingly, holding up the roll of duct tape.

"I'm sorry," said Carol, though this time she was smirking. Lori playfully stretched out the tape. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorryyyyy!"

Lori giggled and chased Carol out of the room with the tape, the two of them both laughing hysterically by the time Carol had finally left. Lori walked back over and sat down on the bed, holding the roll of tape in her lap and finally having time to think about everything that had just happened between her and her best friend.

In one aspect, Carol was right. Things had changed between them, and nothing would ever be the same.

Never again would Lori and Carol be just friends. Their bond had deepened that day, and though Lori couldn't change who she was, and neither could Carol, their friendship had changed into something stronger still. A deep, unbreakable bond that Lori hoped would connect the two of them for life.

 _Our bond is way, way, way stronger than this duct tape_ , thought Lori, smiling and wrapping the tape back down onto the roll. _And Carol... you're still the most beautiful girl in the world._


End file.
